10 December 2014
The UN System Delivering as One on Climate Action
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The transition to low-carbon, resilient and inclusive development offers huge opportunities to achieve the ultimate objective of the UN system – a life in dignity for all.

The UN system of organizations is comprised of more than 40 entities covering issues ranging from human rights to agriculture and civil aviation. With climate change affecting virtually every aspect of development, it is a matter of concern for all of them. At the same time, the transition to low-carbon, resilient and inclusive development offers huge opportunities to achieve the ultimate objective of the UN system – a life in dignity for all.

Hence, all the diverse entities of the UN system have collected data and information, conducted analyses and developed tools and programmes to help governments protect development gains from climate risks, and harness the opportunities arising from climate action. The result is an enormous repository of climate-related knowledge, information and services offered to member states and other partners.

Now, how do we put together all the pieces of this puzzle? How do we bundle our expertise and coordinate our work in a way that it becomes useful to our partners? How can they find out about the information and the solutions offered by the UN system?

These are some of the challenges the UN system addresses in its Working Group on Climate Change, which I am currently chairing. The High Level Committee on Programmes (HLCP) of the UN System Chief Executives Board for Coordination, the CEB, established the Working Group in 2007.

UN CC:Learn or the Global Framework for Climate Services are just two examples of what can result from over 40 specialized UN agencies, funds, programmes and other bodies coming together to coordinate their work on climate change.

For COP20, the Working Group on Climate Change has prepared a number of activities aimed at making the UN system’s climate-related knowledge and services more accessible to negotiating Parties and other participants of the COP.

It is organizing eleven joint UN system side events and technical briefings that highlight the UN system’s work on climate action in a range of thematic areas, including climate finance, innovations, health, food security and transport. In addition, it is organizing the first “One UN Exhibit Area”, where delegates can explore the UN system’s expertise and services in key thematic areas such as sustainable energy, industry, green investment, education, climate science, human mobility and policies for climate action.

The Working Group also brings its new publication on ‘How the UN System Supports Ambitious Action on Climate Change – The United Nations System Delivering as One on Climate Change and Sustainable Development‘ to COP20.

And lastly, we have collected our top publications on climate change in one place. This virtual library of the more than 400 most relevant and most recent climate change publications by over 30 UN system entities is hosted by UN CC:Learn.

My UN system colleagues and I invite you to attend our side events and visit the One UN Exhibit, and look forward to exploring with you how the UN system can support your efforts to address climate change.

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